Hiding in my Skin, Broken from Within
by Rie Sonomura
Summary: Her fear of abandonment. His desire to atone for the sin he committed against her, as well as to be seen as who he really is inside. Will they come to terms, heal from the pain, and let down their barriers? Falcina, slight angst, Xenoblade spoilers in some chapters, non explicit sexuality in later chapters. (undergoing mass revision - stay tuned)
1. Prologue - Sorrow

**Hey there. I figured I'd write Smash Bros. for once.**

 **So uh, this is a Falcina (Captain Falcon x Lucina) fic that is gonna be several chapters, likely some angst and emotional depth and character development. There's most likely gonna be a soft lime near the end, so I'm rating M to be safe. Don't judge me ok ;; if this isn't your cup of tea, feel free to click the back button. But if you like this ship and/or angsty hurt-comforty storylines by all means stick around.** **This story also contains Xenoblade spoilers in chapters 3, 4, and 5.**

* * *

 _ **Hiding in my Skin, Broken from Within**_

 _ **Prologue - Sorrow**_

"Agh!" Lucina gasped, jolting awake and sitting up in bed. Sweat covered her face and her breath was shaky. She clenched her fist and held it to her chest, trembling.

 _This is the third time I've had nightmares like this,_ she thought. Even though the chain of events in those nightmares were different each time, like on one occasion she had her leg pinned under rubble, two things remained constant: the crowd of people, including some people she cared about, merely looking on and then walking away; and then, there was always that same shadowy figure running _toward_ her. Whether that person was going to save her or not remained unclear, as she always awoke with a shout when that happened.

The future Ylissean princess looked at the window. Moonlight shone through very faintly, and Zelda, her apartment mate, was sleeping in the bed across from hers. Zelda seemed to be in a deep sleep, as she did not stir when Lucina awoke from her night terror.

 _I don't even know why I have these dreams. I know that in the future I come from, even though my parents were slain, I fought bravely alongside my comrades. But I wouldn't know what to do if I lost any of them..._ She stepped out of her bed barefoot and walked across the carpeted floor to the small study the two princesses' apartment had. As she walked quietly she continued to ponder, _I think what would be even worse would be to become abandoned by those you care about. Which is what I thought at first, but what if something bad did happen to me? And the people I loved would willingly walk away?_

She shook her head. _No, don't be silly. I fought bravely in my father's place that day to enter the Smash tournament, and Robin came along too, and I met so many friends...they wouldn't do that._ Walking over to a bookshelf, she thought, _And what about that person that always comes running to me at the end? Something about it seems...familiar._

She grabbed a book from the bookshelf, turned on the reading lamp on the desk, and sat down and began to peruse the tome. _Maybe if I just read something, anything to get my mind off this, I could feel better..._

* * *

On the topmost apartment suite of Smash Tower, Captain Falcon lay on the couch in the TV room of the flat he once shared with Snake, staring at the ceiling. He wasn't usually one to let regrets and worry weigh him down. In fact, in his days of F-Zero racing, he projected himself to the public as an optimistic, confident man who could do almost anything. But lately, he began to feel insecure because those appearances were just a facade, even in the Smash tournaments. As long as he wore the helmet, no one would really know who he was inside.

What's more, he started experiencing feelings of remorse and regret, something he didn't think he would experience until now.

 _Why am I having these thoughts? Why do I feel so guilty over that day...?_

That day being the day he fought Lucina and Robin as a testing grounds to allow them into the Smash tournament. They were worthy opponents, but one thing about what happened that day never really left his memory.

 _That girl only wanted to protect her father...he probably wanted to fight alongside her as well, and I..._

He got up and walked toward the large glass window which offered a breathtaking view of Smash City's skyline, the neon lights of the buildings appearing as flourescent dots from afar. It was truly a stunning view, which somewhat reminded him of Mute City at night. But he couldn't help but feel melancholy in spite of having the suite in Smash Tower with the most stunning view, and not just because his friend wasn't occupying the flat as well at this point in time.

 _That day, I did what any person would. I tried to protect myself. It's a natural instinct, but I didn't mean to hurt him at all...or her, for that matter._

"Her" being Lucina, the daughter of the man he defeated. He remembered how she looked back at her fallen father with sorrow in her eyes, then turning to Captain Falcon with a determined expression on her face, saying "For my father...!" before dashing toward him.

 _When she ran to attack me, I tried my best to defend myself too, but...I just couldn't bring myself to hurt her..._

The memory of him intentionally mis-aiming his punch to just send shockwaves past her face flashed into his mind. And then how he kicked away her sword, making sure not to hurt her...

 _I even held off on my Falcon Punch, in the hopes that she'd run and save herself. For someone to go through all that...if Robin hadn't shown up, who knows what..._ He sighed. _No, I shouldn't even think about it._

He walked to his room and, eyeing the smartphone on his dresser, picked it up and opened up the texting app. As the bright artificial light from the screen faintly illuminated his dark room, he went through his contacts and spotted a familiar name: Snake. He started with this message:

"Hey Snake, it's been a while. Something's really concerning me right now."

A few seconds passed, and Falcon sighed, saying, "Yeah, right. As if he'd answer-" and then the cellphone vibrated briefly and a new message appeared on the screen. Surely enough, it was from Snake. It said, "this better be important if you're texting me at 1 AM"

Letting out a sigh of relief, Falcon typed his next message: "So you'll listen?"

Snake's reply was, "yeah, you woke me up and I don't even have any tournaments to participate in right now so shoot"

"Right then. Not so long ago, when I was fighting two newcomers to prove their worth in Smash, I feel I may have wronged one of them somehow."

Falcon sent that message, and then typed, "I don't want to go into details, but...I want to set things right with her."

Snake's reply took a while, but then his next message said, "woah, HER?...I guess I shouldn't ask, but" followed by "you should do whatever you can to help her whenever she needs it you know?"

"I guess so..."

Snake's last texts for the night said, "just don't stress it too much. do what comes naturally and I'm sure things will be fine." followed by "it seems this is really heavy for you, so you should try to get some rest."

"Okay...thanks," Falcon texted back before he collapsed on the bed and put his phone down.

"The question is, though," he mumbled, "how exactly will I do it...? How can I settle things peacefully with her? I don't even know how she feels about me right now..."

* * *

 **So yeah, this was a bit of a quickie.  
**

 **But anyway, I might revise some parts of this prologue if need be. Plus, I'm not going by the standard Smash Mansion setting here, idk but I never really liked that idea too much. And yes, Smash Tower was slightly inspired by Tiny Tower ok I love cute pixel art games shut up :b**

 **And Snake appears since he's a veteran I really want to see return as DLC, along with some other vet and newcomer choices of mine which may or may not be alluded to in future chapters and depending on any official reveals in upcoming months.**

 **I kinda wanna make things clear for the purposes of the story though. I read a review of another fic with this same ship as the focus, the review was a critique and it (somewhat harshly imo) criticized the age gap. Yes, Falcon is 37 years old canonically, and here, Lucina is 20. That's a 17 year difference, but frankly I don't see much of an issue with it. They're both legal, and my own father is like 20 years older than my mother (they're both currently elders).  
**

 **...haha, sorry. I get insecure at times, so ignore my rambling that sounds kinda passive aggressive. I just wanted to clarify a thing.**

 **Also, when I read Falcon's lines in my head, I imagine them in Crispin Freeman's voice (you've def heard his voice at least once if you've watched anime lel) I highly recommend you do the same. It makes him ridiculously sexier.** **( ͡° ͜ʖ ͡°) You're welcome.**

 **And if there's anything I need improvement on, do let me know. I seek to always improve.**


	2. Fleeting Peace (feat tribute to Iwata)

**_Hiding in my Skin, Broken from Within  
_**

 ** _Chapter 1 - Fleeting Peace_**

Sunlight filtered through the windows of Zelda and Lucina's flat. Zelda yawned and stretched as the gentle light woke her from her slumber. Clad in her lavender cotton nightgown and socks on her feet, she stepped out of bed and put her slippers on. She started walking toward the flat's restroom when she noticed that the door to the study was halfway open. She peered in, noticing the reading lamp was on, and walked in. Sure enough, at the reading desk was Lucina, clad in her silky blue pajamas, asleep with her head resting on her arm. Her hair was a mess and a bit of drool flowed out of her half-open mouth. Moreover, Zelda wondered how Lucina avoided catching a cold, seeing as how Lucina was barefoot.

Reaching her hand out, Zelda gently shook Lucina awake. "Oh, Sleeping Beauty..." she said in a singsong voice, in a somewhat teasing manner.

Lucina groaned as she awoke. "Nnng...Zelda...?"

Turning off the reading lamp, Zelda asked, "Were you in here all night?"

"Huh?" Lucina mumbled. After fully regaining consciousness and noticing the open book on the reading desk, she said, "Yeah, I guess I was."

Zelda paused for a moment, and asked, "Another nightmare, I take it?"

"Ah!" Lucina gasped. She was surprised that Zelda could tell so easily, as in the past, Zelda was awoken whenever Lucina had a nightmare, but Zelda did not wake up when Lucina did the night before.

"I knew it..." Zelda said. "You know, Lucy, if there's anything you want to talk to me about..."

"...I'm fine," Lucina said, standing up. "They're just bad dreams. I'm sure it's nothing."

Zelda looked concerned for a moment, but after seeing that Lucina didn't seem to be in any immediate distress, she said, "Well, I guess we'd better brush up and get ready, then."

"I guess so..." Lucina replied, as she followed Zelda to the bathroom. The two brushed their teeth and washed their faces. After they changed their clothes, Lucina looked at herself in the mirror as she brushed her hair. She thought, _Why can't I shake the feeling that something bad is going to happen soon?_

"Lucina! Let's go!" Zelda called out from the hallway.

"Coming!" Lucina shouted. She followed Zelda to the hallway and the two waited for one of the elevators to come down to their floor.

Within a matter of seconds, the elevator doors opened with a _ding_. Shulk and Robin were the first two people Zelda and Lucina saw standing behind the elevator doors.

"Hello, ladies," Robin said.

"Zelda! Lucina! Good morning!" Shulk said, enthusiastically.

"Jovial as ever, aren't you, Shulk," Zelda teased.

"Oh, come now, Zelda!" Shulk replied, chuckling. The two princesses stepped inside the elevator before the doors closed and the elevator continued its descent.

Zelda stood close to Robin, Shulk, and Ness, who was obscured from the initial view when the doors first opened. Lucina, however, distanced herself from the others and looked down at the floor as she walked to the back of the elevator.

"So, Ness," Shulk said, "I heard your friend Lucas is coming back today."

"Yup!" Ness replied. "I hear two more fighters are coming with him."

Zelda asked Ness, "Is one of them...Roy? I heard he's finally returning as well."

"Uh-huh! There's also this guy named Ryu joining us. He calls himself a 'world warrior' or something."

"Intriguing..." Shulk pondered.

"Say, Shulk," Zelda inquired. "Have you seen Link?"

"No, not yet," Shulk replied. "I guess he's in a different elevator."

"I see..."

Lucina silently listened in on their conversation when she suddenly heard a familiar voice mutter, "Ryu, huh..."

Surprised, Lucina looked in the direction of the voice. Standing a short distance to her right was Captain Falcon. The two exchanged glances for a few moments, not saying anything, their faces expressionless.

Looking straight ahead, Lucina asked the Captain in an attempt to break the silence, "So...how are you doing?"

"...Could be better, really," Falcon replied with a sigh. "I didn't get much sleep last night..."

Lucina felt a bit of unease at that statement for a moment, but then immediately dismissed it as coincidence. "I see," she said, briefly looking at him.

"You seem concerned," Captain Falcon commented, noticing the look in Lucina's eyes. "Is there something on your mind...?"

"...No. I'm fine." Lucina said after a moment of hesitation.

Within a few seconds, the elevator doors opened once again with the familiar _ding_ sound, having arrived at the lobby.

Walking up to Zelda and the others, Lucina inquired, "So...where to, guys?"

Robin said, "We're thinking of grabbing breakfast at the cafe, then heading to the rec room afterwards."

"Sounds good," Lucina said with a nod. She walked off with her friends, save for Shulk who was walking a bit behind. After he and the Captain stepped out of the elevator, Shulk turned around. "Is something the matter, Captain?"

"To be honest, yeah," Falcon replied. "You're a good friend of Lucina's, correct?"

"Yeah," Shulk confirmed. "Robin and I hang out with her a lot. I really admire both of their abilities, and Lucina herself reminds me of two friends I have back home. She's met one of them, actually." By "one of them", Shulk was referring to his childhood sweetheart, Fiora. The two met during a special celebration of the new tournament beginning.

"I see," Falcon said. "I wish I could say the same in regards to my relationship with her..."

"Would you like to talk about it?" Shulk invited. "Over breakfast, of course. I'll be heading to the cafe too."

"Okay."

...

The cafe was packed with many different people, including Smashers, who would be socializing at the waiting line if not at a table. After the two grabbed their food and drinks, they sat down at a table a short distance from Lucina and her friends, who seemed to all be chatting it up.

After taking a bite of his food and swallowing, Shulk asked, "So, Captain. What's up with you and Lucina?"

Falcon took a sip of his coffee, and replied, "Before you joined the tournament, you saw the broadcast of the day I fought her and Robin to allow them entry into the tournament, right?"

"Yeah..." Shulk said.

"Well," Falcon continued, "I feel like she may be upset at me for what I did to her father..."

"You mean Chrom?" Shulk questioned.

"Yeah," Falcon answered. "I really didn't mean to hurt him, and it seemed he wanted to participate too. Probably alongside his own daughter. In the end he became Robin's teammate in his Final Smash, like how you call on your friends, Riki and...?"

"Dunban?"

"Yeah. That's his name." Pausing for a moment, Falcon continued, "I know I hurt Lucina at that time...she seemed so distraught seeing her father lying on the ground. And I just couldn't bring myself to let actual harm come to her..."

"I understand..." Shulk said, his voice sounding somewhat melancholy. It really was a lot to take in.

"So with that in mind," Falcon said, "I want to make up with her. I had a conversation with her in the elevator earlier, and while it was a bit...awkward, she didn't seem to hate me like I feared she would. But...what can I do?"

"I really don't know," Shulk answered honestly. "In my opinion, the best you can do for now is be there when she needs someone. Trust your instincts."

"My instincts, huh," Falcon murmured. Those words of advice Shulk gave were eerily similar to Snake's advice.

After they finished their breakfast, Lucina and all her friends walked to the recreational center down the street, with Captain Falcon following a short distance behind, seeing as how he felt he had nothing better to do during the day.

The recreational center was a laid-back place where Smashers could have fun when they weren't fighting. There were some arcade machines throughout, mostly of fighting and racing games, with some shooters and rhythm games mixed in. A jukebox was positioned on the wall perpendicular to the entrance, with a vending machine for soft drinks to its left. Zelda and Link were having a conversation close to the jukebox. There were also billiards and ping-pong tables. On the wall opposite the jukebox was a large screen HDTV and couch, where Lucina, Shulk, Robin and Ness were watching the latest episode of _LoLo's Outlandish Trek_. The episode airing was one fans had been waiting for; the epic final confrontation between Lotaro and Nio. Every once in a while excited shouts erupted from the TV corner whenever an action-packed scene showed.

"Heh," Captain Falcon murmured, seeing Lucina and her friends enjoying themselves watching the animated action show. He walked over to a pool table, removed the triangle from the pool balls, and grabbed a cue. Aiming his shot, he was about to take it when he heard a voice saying, "I guess even someone like you can take it easy once in a while."

Captain Falcon recognized that voice. "Samus..." he said, looking up at the blonde bounty huntress. "I wasn't expecting to see you here."

"I could say the same," Samus replied. She took a cue herself and took a shot, knocking several balls into the holes. "I don't know if you heard, but with Lucas and Roy returning, along with someone new named Ryu joining us, Smash City is holding a small championship."

"Hmm..." Falcon glanced over at a man wearing a red bandana and white karate gi silently observing Mario and Luigi playing a fighting arcade game from afar. Falcon recognized that person as Ryu.

"Yeah, that's him," Samus said, noticing Falcon looking at him. "It's going to be tonight, I suggest you do your best if you want to have a chance of fighting Ryu at the end."

"Sounds like it'll be a blast..." Falcon said.

Little did anyone know, after that night, nothing would be the same...

* * *

 **...Well. At the time of writing this author's note, I just found out that Satoru Iwata, CEO of Nintendo, passed away. ;_; It was all too sudden. I can't even give this a thought-out ending, but I think it will suffice for plot's sake.  
**

 **Anyway; I can't believe Iwata is gone. At only 55, too. He seemed healthy at E3 too ;A; Nintendo Directs will not be the same without him. I would have loved to meet him too, but...  
**

 **Until then...see you on the other side, Iwata. ;-;**

 **In Memory**

 **December 6, 1959 - July 12, 2015**


	3. Cry for Help

_**Hiding in my Skin, Broken from Within**_

 _ **Chapter 2 - Cry for Help**_

It all happened in the blink of an eye.

The rock Charizard was carrying fell on Lucina's left leg. Immense, unbearable crushing pain flooded the blue haired Ylissean's whole being. The pain was so intense that she could only gasp, her face contorted into an expression of suffering, the pupils in her eyes shrinking in response to the sheer agony.

Panicked screams filled the arena as spectators and disqualified participants began to run for the exit. Lucina was lying on her stomach, pinned to the ground by the huge rock on her leg. The intense pain was making her delirious and everything she saw and heard seemed like a blur. She looked at Robin, who stood there looking on with a shocked expression on his face. Feebly reaching out her hand, she tried to shout his name but all that slipped out of her lips were incomprehensible murmurs.

 _Robin..._ she thought. _Please...help..._

Frightened, Robin slowly stepped away, knowing there was nothing he could do to help.

 _No...Robin...where are you going? Where is everyone going...? No...my nightmare...it's happening..._

She heard a muffled yell to her right, and slowly tilted her head in that direction. Shortly after, she saw two men running toward her.

 _Shulk...? Is that you...?_ Before blacking out, she briefly saw the form of a tall, muscular man clad in blue.

 _Is...that...?_

* * *

 _ **Several hours earlier...  
**_

"Are we ready, everyone?!" Master Hand's voice echoed throughout the arena as he hovered over the stage equipped with virtual simulators of the various worlds' stages, that replicated them in almost lifelike quality. "Smash City's first All-Star Championship is about to start! Our first six rounds will consist of free-for-alls with eight combatants, and the four combatants with the highest amount of points at the end of each round will be able to advance. The semi-finals consist of team battles in which the participants that advanced from the first few rounds get to choose their partners, which will lead to the final round: the members of the remaining team in another free-for-all against Lucas and Roy! The last one standing will have the honor of fighting in the Championship Match against our newest fighter, Ryu!"

"This sounds really exciting!" Shulk said, as he waited with the other Smashers in the waiting room.

"Oh yeah!" Luigi chimed, his voice brimming with enthusiasm.

"Wow, Luigi," Mario said. "I'm-a surprised to see you as excited as Shulk here. Normally in these kinda situations you'd -"

"Brooooooo..." Luigi protested, puffing his cheeks in an irritated matter. "You know-a me better than that, Mario. Do I need to mention the many times I -"

"Luigi! Don't-a mention that in public!" Mario felt a bit embarrassed when it came to Luigi bragging about the times he went on his adventures and often ended up saving his own older twin brother in the process.

"Sibling rivalry, am I right?" Sonic asked Shulk, observing the exchange between the plumber brothers.

"Haha, yeah..." the blond wielder of the Monado agreed with a chuckle. Looking over at Captain Falcon standing against the wall, he noticed the blank expression the F-Zero racer had on his face. Falcon's helmet hid his eyes from everyone's view, but Shulk didn't need to have eye contact with Falcon to know that Falcon seemed somewhat stoic at that moment.

"Everything okay there, Falcon?" Shulk asked.

"Huh?" Falcon asked, looking up from the floor to look at Shulk. "Yeah, I'm alright." After seeing Shulk talking to everyone else, Falcon pulled his smartphone out of his pocket upon hearing the text notification sound. It was from Snake; this time Snake took the initiative to text Falcon first.

"Yo, Cap," the text began. "I'm watching the live broadcast of that championship. I'm looking forward to seeing you do your best."

"Thanks," the Captain texted back. "I kinda wish you could have been here, too. I imagine you would have liked to fight against Ryu if you were given the chance."

"THE Ryu?" Snake's reply began. "I dunno, I've never been one to want to meet too many famous people. As it stands now I might not even come back to Smash City..." Snake sent another text that said, "Although, I am curious if you were able to patch things up with that girl yet."

As the Captain was about to reply, Master Hand's voice boomed through the loudspeakers. "The first round is about to begin! All combatants are to enter the arena in an orderly fashion, and from there, those participating in the first round will be selected. Please put away all your personal devices before going through the doors."

Following that announcement, Falcon texted Snake, "I'll message you later.", before dropping his phone off in the box of personal belongings.

"And here they are, our strong and brave Smashers! I am looking forward to seeing you all fight your hardest!"

The audience erupted into cheers.

"And now, the combatants for the first round..."

* * *

 _ **Mere minutes before the incident...**_

"Crap, Ike's really bringing his A-game to the battle," Captain Falcon murmured as he walked out of the waiting room and toward the water fountain in the general hall. He had been eliminated from the last round due to not having enough points to advance. Shulk had been eliminated the round before. Robin and Lucina, however, were among the Smashers that had been able to advance.

"Oh, hey, Captain," Shulk said, standing near the water fountain.

"Hey, Shulk," Falcon replied. "I can't believe Ike took my advancement spot by only 40 points. He's really gotten stronger since the last time we fought." By "the last time", Falcon was referring to the Brawl tournaments.

"It's understandable," Shulk said, as the Captain helped himself to a drink of water. "Everyone wants the chance to be able to face off against Ryu. I was in a similar spot to yours. Kirby, of all Smashers, beat me the round before for the last advancement spot!"

"Haha, really?" Falcon said with a laugh, wiping the water off his mouth.

"And now for the semi-finals! Our first semi-final round is a team battle, where the Red Team, Charizard and Mewtwo, will face off against the Blue Team, Robin and Lucina!" The loudspeaker announcement boomed throughout the whole building, followed by the reverberating echo of the audience's cheers.

"Heh," Falcon said. "Looks like Lucina and I won't be having that rematch."

After hearing the Captain's words, Shulk seemed silent for a moment, and then said, "Maybe it's for the best this way. Maybe the next time you two interact, things will be a bit better. And maybe she'll get to face Ryu - "

"Shulk?!" Captain Falcon immediately turned to Shulk, surprised that Shulk didn't get to finish his sentence. The first thing he noticed was Shulk's eyes glowing blue.

 _He's having a vision..._ Falcon thought, familiar with Shulk's Vision Counters in battle as well as when something bad was going to happen.

The minute Shulk's eyes stopped glowing, the expression on his face grew dark. "Oh...my god..."

"Shulk!" Falcon called out to the wielder of the Monado. "What's wrong? What did you see?!"

Shaking, Shulk said, "It's terrible...Lucina is gonna be hurt real bad!"

"...How bad are we talking?" the Captain asked, apprehensively.

Pausing for a moment to catch his breath, Shulk answered, "Charizard will go out of control and attack Robin with its Rock Smash, but at the last minute Lucina will push him out of the way and...her leg will be smashed badly..."

"Damn it..." Falcon murmured under his breath. "But...isn't there still time? We can still do something, right?"

"Well..." Shulk lamented, "We can't actually step into the battlegrounds ourselves, but we can try telling Master Hand or Ryu to call it off, but I doubt they'll believe us..." He sighed. "This is...just like what happened with Fiora..."

"Fiora?" Falcon questioned.

"...It's nothing. I'll explain some other time," Shulk answered. "Let's go!"

...

Midway into the battle, as the Blue Team of Robin and Lucina had the upper hand, Charizard began to act strange. The look in its eyes changed to one of bloodthirst.

 _Charizard...?_ Mewtwo thought. _Something's wrong..._ The Psychic-type Pokemon cautiously advanced toward the dragon-like fire-breathing Pokemon. "Charizard, are you - "

Charizard immediately turned around and smacked Mewtwo with its tail, knocking him away.

"Urgh..."

Charizard then launched itself toward Robin using its Flare Blitz attack. In an attempt to shield Robin, Lucina ran to attack Charizard, but was knocked over.

"Argh!"

Thankfully, Flare Blitz stopped short of Robin, at which point he found it fit to try to counterattack. "Elwind!" He figured the quickest attack would be best to protect himself for now, but Charizard immediately jumped above the stream of wind blades.

"What!?"

From above, Charizard began to use its Flamethrower attack. Robin immediately shielded to protect himself from the flames, but within a few seconds, the shielding aura around him shattered, leaving him stunned.

Getting up slowly, Lucina saw that her partner was in trouble. "Robin!" she cried, dashing toward him. It was at that moment that Charizard grabbed a rock and prepared to drop it on top of Robin.

...

At the topmost seating row, Ryu was watching the battle when he saw Shulk and Captain Falcon running to him. "What's the matter?" the world warrior asked the two.

"Listen," Shulk said, "You need to call off the battle right now! Something terrible is going to happen!"

"What...?" Ryu asked, confused. "How do you know this? What's going to happen? How should I -"

"Guys..." Falcon said, his gaze directed at the battlefield. Shulk and Ryu followed suit.

The next few moments seemed to go by in slow motion. The moment Robin regained consciousness, he saw Charizard carrying a large boulder above him, ready to drop it. Lucina immediately shoved him out of the way in a dashing leap, and the rock fell right on her leg.

* * *

"Ryu, Shulk," the Captain said. "Come with me. I may need your help. The least we should do is try to save her."

"Right."

"Let me help as well," Ike said, walking up to them.

Ryu said, "Alright, Ike. We could certainly use all the help we can get."

The four fighters descended down the seating rows into the arena as everyone else was in a state of panic.

"Everyone remain calm," Master Hand's voice echoed. "The battle has been canceled, and medical teams will be on site soon. I ask that no one panic."

The four fighters ran toward the downed swordwoman, Shulk and Falcon leading. "Lucina!" Shulk shouted as he ran.

As they all arrived by her side, Ryu asked Falcon, "How bad does it look?"

The Captain's helmet was equipped with bio-scanners on the inside of the helmet's visor. After scanning Lucina's leg, he said, "Her leg isn't as badly damaged as we thought. With some medical help, she should recover within a few days at a hospital. However, we need to be careful lifting the rock." Turning to the others, he said, "Shulk, guide the paramedics to the scene when they arrive. Ike, Ryu, you guys give me a hand."

"Okay," Shulk said as he stepped outside the arena, waiting for the ambulance. Ike and Ryu joined Falcon in grabbing the rock on three different ends, preparing to lift the rock.

"Let me help," Mewtwo said to the other three. "I feel I am somewhat responsible for this. I should have tried to stop Charizard...I imagine it's acting this way because Red hasn't been controlling it for a while now."

"Don't blame yourself," Ike consoled him. "Where is Charizard, anyway?"

"Lucario and Greninja helped subdue it. It will be undergoing special training to control itself in the next few days." Preparing his psychokinesis ability, Mewtwo said, "Okay, everyone, on three. One..."

"Two..."

"Three!" Ryu, Captain Falcon, Ike, and Mewtwo lifted the rock clean off Lucina's leg with their combined effort, and slowly and carefully moved the rock a distance away before dropping it on the ground again. By that time, paramedics arrived on the scene with a stretcher, with Shulk leading them.

Walking over to the paramedics, Falcon said, "Be careful putting her on the stretcher. Her leg will be able to recover with treatment and rest, but you should still exercise care when lifting her."

"Understood," the paramedics replied.

Shulk told the others, "Can I be with her on the ambulance ride? I want her to feel safe and know that I'm with her."

"...Okay," Falcon said. Shulk then stepped into the ambulance as the paramedics loaded Lucina onboard and shortly after drove off to the hospital.

"...Captain, if I may ask," Ike said, "Why didn't you go with her?"

"...Well," Falcon began with a sigh, "She and I don't have the best history...I figured that...I would just help her when she needed help the most, like a friend once told me...but I still can't face her, even like this."

"A friend..." Ike pondered. "...Snake?"

"Yeah," Falcon replied. "Right now, though, I can't even message him. What happened today...I'm just too shaken up."

"...I'm sure anyone would be," Ike replied, with a solemn twinge in his voice. "Robin seemed especially scared. He knew he couldn't do anything to help..."

"Yeah..." Seeing that everyone else had left, Falcon said, "Well, I guess I'll be heading home now."

"Good idea..." Ike said.

"See you later, Ike," Falcon said. Turning to Ryu, he said, "I'm sorry this had to happen, Ryu. I guess this means the championship is canceled, and on such a bad note, too..."

"Don't worry about it..." Ryu said, in an attempt to console the Captain. "Master Hand and I are still thinking about what to do next. Just...know that you are not to blame. Nobody is."

"Of course..." Falcon replied. "I guess I'll talk to you tomorrow, then..."

With those words, everyone else headed home to their rooms in Smash Tower, a heavy, tense air lingering in the dark, starless night.

* * *

 **So...when Shulk mentioned what happened to Fiora, that will be explained in the next chapter. And it's safe to say there will be a Xenoblade spoiler in a later chapter *cough* a certain someone may make a cameo. And I use gendered pronouns with Mewtwo, Jigglypuff and Lucario but "it" with other Pokemon.**

 **And Red is the Pokemon Trainer, obviously. I don't wanna say anything else, I may write the next chapter tomorrow or so. I think this ending for this chapter was pretty effective.**


	4. Reflection

_**Hiding in my Skin, Broken from Within**_

 ** _Chapter 3 - Reflection_**

Lucina slowly opened her eyes. Her senses were still a bit distorted, but she could barely make out the fact that she was in an ambulance, as she felt the stretcher she was strapped to rattle every once in a while as the ambulance drove to the hospital. She could also faintly hear the sound of sirens. The anesthetic being administered to her by the intravenous tubes helped to numb the pain from her injured leg. Her vision was still blurry; however, she was able to faintly see Shulk out of the corner of her eye. She slowly turned her head to face him.

"Shulk..." she faintly whispered, her mouth covered by a small, transparent oxygen mask, her breath making condensation form on the mask's inside.

Walking slowly over to Lucina, Shulk put his hand on her forehead and said, "Don't worry, Lucina. You're going to be fine. For now...just rest, and within a few days you will be able to recover..."

Upon hearing those words, Lucina slowly closed her eyes and drifted off to sleep.

* * *

 _ **The next morning...**_

"Mmm...how long have I been sleeping?" Captain Falcon murmured groggily as the bright sunlight shone through the curtains. He climbed out of bed, clad only in his dark blue, silky pajama pants, and opened the curtains. Judging by how bright it was outside, it had to have been quite late in the morning.

"Damn... Did I really sleep this late?" he said. Remembering what happened the night before, he thought, _it's ironic...the other night I couldn't sleep very well cause I was worried, and this morning, I guess I didn't want anything to do but to just sleep in..._

He turned around and looked at himself in the mirror. His short, jet black hair was a mess, and his bluish-green eyes looked tired. Almost as if by instinct, he traced the scar on his left eyebrow with with his left hand. Scar aside, he had a face many women would call handsome. His physique was certainly something, as well: his muscular biceps; chiseled, hairless chest and abs; and toned thighs were all a result of his personal training for racing and fighting.

In spite of all this, he believed he couldn't show his true self like this to anyone, either from the world he came from or in Smash City. The reason behind this was that wherever he went, danger would follow. He remembered the incident that gave him his scar, as well as the many times he went out of his way to protect his friends from harm, including a woman he had feelings for; unfortunately, those sentiments were unrequited. He thought that perhaps that was for the best if it meant she wouldn't be in harm's way.

He looked at his reflection and said, "It's not every day I get to look at myself in the mirror like this...I sometimes wonder if the person staring back at me really is me..." He shook his head. "Come on, Captain Falcon. Stop with that angsty pseudo-philosophical bullcrap," he berated himself.

Almost immediately afterward, the smartphone on his dresser began to ring. The ringtone was that of a codec call; it was then that he recognized who was calling. He picked up the phone.

"Snake?"

"You didn't message me last night...though I guess with what happened, I don't blame you."

"...You saw?" Falcon asked, with a trace of anxiety in his voice.

"Well...the cameras stopped rolling after Charizard hurt that girl, but...yeah."

"I see..." Falcon sighed.

"Is something the matter?" Snake asked.

"Well..." Falcon began, "Last night...I actually was able to help her. I lifted that rock off of her, with some help...she's in the hospital right now. However, Shulk rode the ambulance with her on the way to the hospital...I felt I shouldn't be with her on the way there."

"You know what I think?" Snake replied. "I think that she would appreciate you going to see her regardless of whatever happened in the past. Which, if you're going to see her, I suggest you get going soon. Do you know what time it is...?"

Looking at the smartphone's screen, Falcon caught a glimpse of the time displayed there. "Crap, it's almost 11 AM! I didn't think I'd have slept _that_ late!" he shouted, hanging up the call. Immediately after, he got ready to go, starting with a cold shower, and brushing up before he put on all his clothes.

"I really hate cold showers..." he muttered under his breath after putting his clothes on. Looking at his uncovered face in the mirror once more, he sighed, and then put his helmet on.

"I guess I'd better get going, then..."

The elevator ride down was a solitary one at first. The Captain leaned against the wall in the back, looking up for the whole time until the doors opened again. He looked at Robin, standing on the other side of the doors.

"Robin..."

"Good morning, Captain," Robin replied, his voice sounding monotone as he entered the elevator. The two stayed silent for a while after the elevator continued its descent, then Robin said, "I take it you're going to see Lucina?"

"Huh?" Captain Falcon was surprised by Robin's question at first, but then replied, "Yeah...are you?"

Robin sighed, and replied, "I feel I should make it up to her for what happened last night." He turned away, a melancholy expression on his face. "You saw what happened...I was a coward. I panicked. I knew I couldn't do anything to help."

"Come on...don't beat yourself up like that," Falcon said, in an attempt to console him.

"I really admire you for the fact that, in spite of what happened in the past, you immediately came running to her aid," Robin replied.

"I..." Falcon was at a loss of words to reply to Robin. After a while, he said, "I just...couldn't leave her like that. I always believed you don't need a particular reason to help anyone in need..."

 _Was that really it, though?_ He thought. _Was there more to it than that...?_

"Falcon?" Robin asked, noticing the Captain lost in thought.

"It's nothing," Falcon replied.

The two arrived at the lobby, and took a taxi to Smash City's hospital a few blocks away. As they entered, Robin walked up to the receptionist's desk and asked, "Where is Lucina's room?"

"She's staying in room 317. She's had a lot of visitors today," the receptionist replied.

"I see. Thank you," Robin replied. Turning to the Captain, he said, "I guess we're going to the third floor."

As the two arrived on the third floor, they noticed Lucina's room had some visitors. "Is that...?" Robin peered through the window and saw Chrom embracing his daughter tightly. In the room with him were his wife, Robyn, and their son and Lucina's younger brother, Morgan.

"Chrom's there..." Robin said to the Captain. "Do you still want to...?" He trailed off, knowing how the Captain must have felt in regards to his past with Chrom.

"I guess I'll wait until they leave..." Falcon said, walking down the hall and taking a turn to the right. Robin stayed there until Chrom and his family left, overhearing their conversations.

"Lucina...I'm so glad you're alright...!"

"Father...I'm sorry to make you worry."

"Get better soon, Sis!"

"Heehee...thanks, Morgan."

...

"Hey! Captain!" Shulk called out to Captain Falcon as Falcon walked down the hallway.

"Oh...hey, Shulk," the Captain said, stopping in his tracks.

Shulk walked over to him. "Did you come to see Lucina?"

"Yeah..." Falcon replied. "But her family is visiting her right now and I don't want to interrupt that moment."

"I see..." Shulk said. "I stayed with Lucina overnight. I will admit I fell asleep after she was taken in for an operation on her leg, but the next morning, Dr. Mario told me that she'll be keeping the cast on for a day and a half, and will then undergo some training to try to get up and walking again."

"That's good..." Falcon answered, with a sigh of relief.

"Yeah," Shulk said. "I was worried since this situation reminded me of what happened with Fiora..."

"You mentioned that name before," Falcon inquired. "What exactly happened?"

Shulk sighed, and said, "One day, when my hometown was attacked by Mechon, Fiora tried to fend them off, but was stabbed in the abdomen by Metal Face." His face looked anguished as he continued, "I think the worst thing about it was that, at the time, I saw a vision of it happening, but no matter how hard I tried, I couldn't prevent it..."

The Captain sighed. "I guess I can almost understand how Robin felt that time..."

"Yeah..." Shulk said. "As for Fiora, I thought for sure I'd lost her then, but later on, I found her again. The Machina of Mechonis had given her cybernetic enhancements and in essence saved her life. I'm thankful she's okay for now, but still..."

"I understand," Falcon said.

"Well, I'd better head home," Shulk announced. "It's been a really long several hours."

"Okay, see you later," Falcon replied. Shulk waved to Falcon as he walked toward the elevator.

Seeing that Chrom and his wife and son left Lucina's room, Falcon walked over to her room to check on her and Robin, who were having a conversation. Stopping a short distance from the door, he began to listen in on their conversation.

"Are you doing okay, Lucina?" Robin asked.

"I've been fine," Lucina replied. "Before my family showed up, I got a lot of visitors. Zelda came in to check on me, and I also received a lot of gifts from everyone. Ryu even gave me a letter wishing me a speedy recovery, and that he looks forward to sparring against me under better circumstances someday." She looked out the window for a moment, and said, "And of course, Shulk was with me on the ride here..."

"Lucina...I'm sorry about what happened yesterday. I was a coward...I - "

"No...it's fine," Lucina consoled him. "I know the situation was tough...I'm just glad that you still came. I'm glad that no one left me when I needed them the most."

"Lucina..." Robin murmured.

"I think that...once I recover, I'm going to try to train to become even stronger so that nothing like this has to happen again." Lucina paused for a moment, and continued, "For the past few days up until the tournament, I had a nightmare..."

Robin was curious at that statement. "What kind of nightmare?"

Sighing, Lucina began, "I dreamt...that I was in a predicament much like what actually happened. I was horribly injured, and no one came to help me, they all just looked on...well, no one except one person. I couldn't tell who that person was in the dream, but something about them seemed...familiar."

"...I see," Robin said.

"Which," Lucina continued, "I still wonder who it was that saved me that day..."

When Captain Falcon heard those words, he slowly backed away from Lucina's hospital room.

 _Why am I such a hypocrite? Robin says he was a coward for not being able to help Lucina...but I'm even more cowardly than he is right now,_ he thought. _For now...I think it's best she try to recover without knowing that I helped save her that day._ He went home to his flat in Smash Tower for the day.

* * *

 _ **Two days later...**_

The day had come for Lucina to try to get back on her feet again after the cast came off. Wearing the customary hospital gown and fuzzy slippers, she was brought on wheelchair by her mother to a room with a walkway and two handlebars on each side.

"Lucina," Ryu said, standing on the other end of the walkway. "Are you ready?"

"Yes...I think so," Lucina said.

"Alright," Ryu replied. "Just remember: don't rush yourself. Take as much time as you need to get used to walking again."

"Okay," Lucina said, grabbing the handlebars and slowly hoisting herself up, placing most of the force to push herself up on her good leg.

"Good," Ryu encouraged. "Now just take one step after the other. Just go easy."

"Alright..." Lucina said, stepping forward with her good leg first. "So far, so good," she mumbled. However, things didn't go so well when she tried to step forward with the recovering leg; the minute she stepped on the ground again with that leg, sharp pain shot up that leg, causing her to collapse to the floor.

"Arrrrrgh...!" she cried out in agony.

"Lucina...!" Robyn cried, running to her aid. "Are you alright?"

"...it's nothing, mom," Lucina replied, groaning slightly. "Could you bring the wheelchair here so I can try to start over?"

"Okay," Robyn replied. She brought her daughter back to the starting point, where she managed to make three steps before collapsing in pain again.

Noticing Captain Falcon watching Lucina try to get back on her feet from the windows outside the room and then walking away, Ryu said, "At the same time, you shouldn't overexert yourself. If you need to take a break, feel free to do so. If you come back later, Ms. Trainer will be here to help you." By "Ms. Trainer", Ryu was referring to Wii Fit Trainer. Ryu then said, "I actually need to take care of something. I will check in later, though."

Ryu stepped outside as Wii Fit Trainer took over for him. Walking over to the Captain, he asked, "Is something the matter, Captain?"

"It's nothing," Falcon replied. "Since I helped her that day, I just wanted to check in to see how she was recovering."

"That's a very noble thing to do," Ryu said. "I take it you haven't actually spoken to her yet, though...?"

"Not really..." Falcon lamented.

"I see..." Ryu answered. "I think you should talk to her when she's resting after her training for the day, though."

"Sounds like a good idea," Falcon concurred. "What were you discussing with Master Hand?"

"Ah, that," Ryu remarked, remembering what he told Falcon that night. "After the championship was called off, Master Hand and I decided to encourage the other Smashers to bring their friends over from their own world and undergo testing to become newcomers to the Smash tournament. Some veterans from the past may give this a shot, as well."

"Interesting..."

"Of course," Ryu continued, "There might be some that...may not make it."

"...Snake?" Falcon asked. "You think he might not make it back?"

"...Possibly," Ryu said sadly. "His circumstances may be harder than anyone else's right now."

"I understand..."

Later that day, Lucina was resting in her room. It was then that Captain Falcon finally decided to pay her a visit.

He walked into the room. There were a lot of gifts around the room that Lucina received from various Smashers: a large plush Nopon from Shulk, a bouquet from her family, "Get Well Soon" balloons from Pit and Dark Pit, a box of chocolates from Zelda, and a potted plant from Robin, as well as several cards from various people, Roy and Ryu included.

 _I couldn't bring her any gifts..._ Falcon thought. _But I figure my presence here will be enough._ He walked over to Lucina, fast asleep in her hospital bed. Her face looked very peaceful. Sitting in the chair close to the bed, he whispered, "I hope you'll recover soon. You're a fighter, I know you can do this." Standing up slowly, he continued, "It's the least I can do to make things up to you..."

He began to walk toward the door when Lucina slowly awoke with a moan. She opened her eyes and saw him walking to the door. "Captain...?" she asked.

Surprised, he turned around. "You're awake..." Walking toward her again, he asked, "How are you feeling?"

"I'm slowly doing better," Lucina said.

"That's wonderful," Falcon replied, looking out the window.

Lucina suddenly asked, "Were you...the one that saved me?"

"Ah..." Falcon faintly gasped under his breath. He said after catching his breath, "Yes...I was. Ike, Mewtwo and Ryu helped."

"I...see..." Lucina mumbled. "If I may ask...why?"

"Huh?"

"Why did you save me...? _Me_ , of all people?" she asked.

"I..." The Captain paused for a moment, and continued, "Do I need a reason? It's always been my belief that...you don't need a reason to help people..."

"It's because I was weak, wasn't it?!" Lucina blurted out, her tone sounding somewhat confrontational and tense.

"What...? I - no..." Falcon was at a loss of words.

"Is that it? That no one believes I'm strong enough? First, I let that happen to my father, and then what happened recently to me..." Lucina looked down, the sorrow becoming apparent in her voice and expression. "I've been putting on a show this whole time to everyone who visited...even Shulk...even Robin...even my family. I'm a hypocrite. I'm pathetic..."

"Lucina, you idiot..." Falcon whispered.

"Huh?" Lucina gasped. What happened next was something she never expected.

He took her in his arms and embraced her tightly. She was caught completely off guard, but what was perhaps even more surprising was the fact that she _enjoyed_ being held in his strong arms, feeling the gentle warmth of his embrace, his hand gently touching the back of her head.

"Don't you get it, Lucina?" he said, his voice sounding very worried, but at the same time somewhat comforting. "Everyone is worried about you...they see you trying to carry more than you can handle. They all care about you deeply...and...so do I."

"Ah?!" Lucina felt tears begin to well up in her eyes.

"What happened to you isn't your fault at all! Circumstances that are out of our control get the best of each of us all the time...please...I ask of you...don't take it out on yourself..."

"I...I..." Lucina was trembling, teardrops falling from her eyes, the anguish engulfing her like a tidal wave.

"Don't be afraid to let it out..." he whispered to her. "You're not weak...I assure you."

"U...uuuu..." Lucina couldn't hold back her emotions any longer. She wrapped her arms around him, pressed her face to his chest, and wept, her sobs wracking her body.

"It's alright...it's alright..."

The few minutes Lucina spent sobbing in the Captain's arms felt like an eternity, but after a while, she calmed down. "Thanks..." She said. "I think I feel a bit better."

"I'm glad," the Captain said, releasing her from his embrace. Feeling somewhat flustered, he looked away and said, "I'm sorry if I got too...carried away."

"No," Lucina answered him, shaking her head. "It's fine."

"Okay." He began to walk to the door. "I'd better head home, it's getting late. I hope your recovery goes well."

"Thank you..."

The next day, Lucina successfully got the hang of walking again, and was released from the hospital. Zelda picked her up and took her home.

That evening, everyone was gathered in the meeting hall in Smash Tower's lobby, where Ryu made the announcements he told Falcon about at the hospital. They also had a toast to celebrate Lucina's recovery.

However, later that night...

In the dead of night, as Zelda and all the other Smashers were fast asleep, Lucina slowly walked to the door to the apartment she shared with Zelda, fully clothed in her everyday gear and carrying everything she needed in a small knapsack.

"I'm sorry, everyone..."

* * *

 _ **The next morning...**_

Falcon was sleeping soundly in his bed when his phone began to ring. It was only 8:35 AM this time. "Snake...?" he murmured. After coming back to his senses, he noticed the ringtone was different; it was that of a catchy guitar melody. He recognized that as Shulk's ringtone.

Picking up the phone, he answered, "Shulk? What's the matter?"

"It's terrible, Captain!" Shulk said on the other end of the line. "Lucina's gone missing!"

"What!?"

* * *

 **Holy frick I think this is the longest chapter of this fic so far lel**

 **Anyway, couple clarifications. Yes, Falcon has "You Will Know Our Names" as the ringtone when Shulk calls, and a codec call noise when Snake calls.**

 **About Robyn's appearance in this chapter: she and male Robin are in no way related. I guess in the Smash universe, both Robins know Chrom. Robin is Chrom's trusted comrade (and one of Lucina's friends as well), while Robyn is Chrom's wife and the mother of Lucina (and her little brother, male!Morgan). Just...don't overthink it too much.  
**

 **As for Falcon's appearance... I know his appearance in the F-Zero anime, that he has brown hair and brown eyes. But the anime is considered not canon to the games and I'm not going with that anyway. At the end of the story mode of F-Zero GX, Falcon removes his helmet and walks off, and even though it's only a view from the back, he has short, somewhat messy jet black hair. Fanarts on Pixiv depict his eyes as a bluish-green, so I'm going with those qualities for his appearance. He also has a scar above his left eye, around his left eyebrow, like the anime incarnation, cause iirc that's where he was injure** **d and Blood Falcon was cloned from? I don't wanna go too much into depth explaining is too complicated**

 **The "woman" referred to near the beginning that Falcon had feelings for is indeed Jody Summer. Before you say anything, I know that Falcon and Jody are siblings in the GP Legend anime. However, as I mentioned at the beginning, it's not canon and I'm not going with that storyline. The Falcon in GPL is a man named Andrew Summer, the one I'm going with here is "canon" CF from F-Zero X and GX, aka Douglas Jay Falcon.**

 **And Ryu was referring to the ballot in a non-fourth-wall-breaking way. Just guess who I want in, lol (hint: who Shulk was talking about)  
**

 **As for Snake, I encourage you all to read my Snake-centric fic, "The Last Train Home", it goes a bit more in depth on his chances in returning. Don't get me wrong, I definitely want him to come back, but it's not looking so good at this point...:c**

 **(EDIT as of revision) You know what's ironic? I tend to really get into my "zone" at least for this fic, when I'm depressed. Trust me, I've been through some serious shit that's got me to the point of crying at lunch break. I wish it was different, that I didn't have to feel so awful about life to get in the zone, but you know, whatever works...? I hope you all like this version a lot better than the last one.  
**

 **Constructive criticism is encouraged as usual! If you saw the previous version I also encourage you to forget that version otl**


	5. Training, part 1

_**Hiding in my Skin, Broken from Within**_

 _ **Chapter 4 - Training, Part 1  
**_

"Lucina's gone missing!"

"What?!" Those words were the last words Captain Falcon expected to hear after Lucina seemingly made a smooth recovery at the hospital, especially considering what happened when he visited her the other day. He thought that for sure, life would have gone back to normal in Smash City and she would be fine...that he had successfully patched things up with her.

After regaining some of his composure, he reluctantly asked, "D...do you know where she is?"

"We don't know," Shulk replied on the other side of the line. "We've formed a search party that is looking around right now. I suggest you meet up with everyone in the lobby."

"Alright, I'll be there as soon as I can." The Captain hung up the call. After getting ready, he picked up his smartphone one more time and opened up the texting app. Opening the pre-existing page of texts he exchanged with Snake, he began to type a message.

"Hello Snake,

Listen. Something has happened involving that girl I told you about. I have a feeling that a lot may change in the next few days, and I may not be around to reply for a while. I just hope that it's nothing serious and all will end well. When the time comes, I will let you know how it went. So, until then...take care."

Pressing the Send button, he then put the phone down and headed down to the lobby.

...

A tense air hung in the lobby as the Smashers sat on couches and chairs all around, worried expressions on their faces. Spotting Shulk from afar, the Captain walked over to him. "Have you...heard anything yet?" He asked Shulk.

"Not yet," Shulk answered him, shaking his head sadly. "The search party, consisting of Roy, Link, Ryu, and the Duck Hunt duo went out half an hour ago looking for her. Hopefully the dog will be able to trace her scent..." He bowed his head, a solemn look in his eyes. "I just hope she's okay..."

"Yeah..." Falcon agreed.

"...You know," Zelda began, walking toward them, "I always thought that ever since a few days ago, Lucy had been acting strange...she'd become very distant."

"Zelda?" Captain Falcon was caught off guard at first. "Oh, right, you're Lucina's roommate..."

Zelda nodded. "I know that she'd been having a lot of nightmares before the incident..."

"Yeah, she told me too," Robin said, joining in on the conversation.

"Robin..." Falcon murmured.

"I'll still never forget how she pushed me out of harms' way that day," Robin said. "She's a good friend of ours...I just wonder what made her act like this."

"I wonder, too..." Falcon said quietly. _I guess I'd better not mention about how I overheard from her about her nightmare that day..._

Shulk heard a small noise coming from his pocket. He pulled out his smartphone. On the screen was a text from Roy, which said:

"After some investigation, the Duck Hunt team was able to track Lucina's scent. Apparently her last known location was the off-world teleporter. Reasons as to why she went there, or to which world, are currently unknown."

"What...?" Putting his phone away, Shulk stepped forward. "Everyone, may I have your attention? It appears our search team has discovered Lucina's last known whereabouts!"

Everyone who had been sitting down stood up, and in the blink of an eye, murmurs filled the air.

"Please do not panic," Shulk announced. "She was last spotted at the off-world teleporter. The reasons behind this are unknown, but it is assumed that she is safe for the time being."

"Off-world...teleporter...?" Robin mumbled.

"Is something the matter, Robin?" Zelda asked him.

"Shulk, if I may," Robin said, walking up to Shulk. "I remember the last time I saw Lucina, which was when she was recovering in the hospital, that she said that once she recovered, she'd like to try to train more. I just didn't think she meant like this..."

Falcon tensed up upon overhearing what Robin said to Shulk. _You don't mean..._

Almost immediately, Falcon turned toward the doors and ran into the streets.

"Falcon! Hey!" Robin called out after him, but to no avail as Falcon left the tower. Turning to Shulk, he asked, "What just...?"

"Stay there for the time being," Shulk advised Robin. "I'll go after him. The search team should be back soon, so they'll take things from there."

...

On the way to the building with the off-world teleporter, Falcon ran into the search team. "Huff...huff..." he panted, crouching over with his hands on his knees.

"Captain? Is something the matter?" Ryu asked.

"Ah...Ryu..." Falcon said, trying to catch his breath. "You're just the person I wanted to talk to."

"What is it?" Ryu questioned.

"I wanted to examine the last coordinates of the off-world transporter," the Captain replied. "I imagine you have access to the teleporter's logs. The others can head back to Smash Tower for now."

"Okay," Ryu said. "Everyone else, head back to the tower. I have some further investigation to carry out."

Heeding his words, the rest of the team headed back to the tower. Ryu and Falcon then began to walk toward the the building housing the teleporter.

"Hey! Wait!" Shulk called after the two, running.

"Shulk?" Ryu asked.

"...if it's fine with you, I'd like to find out where exactly Lucina is, too."

"What do you think, Captain?" Ryu asked Captain Falcon. The Captain nodded in response, saying, "Sure."

...

As the three walked up to the teleporter's control panel, Ryu entered his credentials, gaining him access to the teleporter's logs. "Let's see here...ah, found it."

"What is it?" Shulk asked.

"It appears Lucina teleported to Bionis, more precisely, to Gaur Plains, no less than an hour ago."

"Gaur Plains..." Shulk murmured.

"Ryu," the Captain said. "If I may, I would like to go after her and make sure she is alright."

Ryu seemed hesitant for a moment, but then answered, "Okay. I trust you'll know how to get back."

"I'll be fine," Falcon reassured him. "All the worlds have teleporters back to Smash City, right?"

"Yes," Ryu answered him.

"I'll go too," Shulk added. "But...later. I have some business to attend to later on." Turning around, he mumbled, "I hope my friend got my message last night..."

"Okay," Ryu said. "So, you ready, Captain?"

"Yes."

* * *

"Hyah!" Lucina shouted as she dealt the finishing blow to the last Armu in the pack she decided to take on. Putting her sword away, she stood there and took it all in: the vast grass-covered landscape, the wind blowing through her hair, the rivers and lakes, the clear blue sky, and the wildlife inhabiting Gaur Plain. This was nothing at all like the simulations whenever she battled in tournaments.

"I suppose this may be a good place to train," she said to herself. Walking on ahead, she spotted a flock of Tirkin and began to sneak up on them when she felt the ground rumble and heard loud footsteps echo throughout the land. "What..."

The flock of Tirkin began to flee as a giant ape-like creature walked by. "What in the name of Naga is that...?" Lucina mumbled anxiously. "I have a bad feeling about this..." She began to crawl past, out of the monster's line of sight, then got up and began to slowly walk away when she stepped on a large, dried tree branch.

Hearing the noise, the monster immediately turned around and spotted Lucina.

"Crap...!" Lucina gasped. She began to run as the monster frantically chased her, roaring. She cut across running down the shallow river, feeling the tremors in the ground from the monster's steps. She could tell this monster was stronger than most of the other animals inhabiting the ecosystem here.

She ran along the grassy terrain again but unfortunately was cornered against a stony wall. The monster began to raise its left arm. Standing there paralyzed in fear, she thought, _Is this it? Is this the end for me...? I was so foolish.._ _._

"Look out!" a familiar voice shouted. Just as the monster swung its arm toward Lucina, she felt herself being tackled away by someone, pushing her out of the way in the nick of time as the monster's arm crashed into the wall, knocking rocks down.

"Ugh..." she mumbled, slowly opening her eyes.

"Dammit, Lucina," her savior said, who turned out to be none other than Captain Falcon. "Are you _trying_ to get yourself killed here?"

"You...?" She murmured. "You saved me...again..."

"Now's not the time to be worrying about that," Falcon said. "At the very least, we should try to take this thing down together. I'll help." Falcon got into his battle stance as Lucina drew her sword.

Attacking first, Falcon ran toward the beast and leapt toward it in an aerial kick. The attack seemed to be for naught as the monster grabbed Falcon and tossed him at a diagonal angle toward the ground.

"Augh!" Falcon cried in pain.

"Captain!"

"I'm fine...ngh..." Falcon grunted, slowly standing up.

Seeing the monster advance toward Falcon, Lucina immediately lunged toward it and began to hack and slash at it with her Falchion, doing some seemingly noticeable damage. The monster diverted its attention to the blue-haired swordwoman and held both its arms above her, poised to swing them down and bludgeon her, but she dodged out at the last second, running toward the Captain and helping him up. However, just as he stood up, the beast rapidly smacked them out of the way, knocking them both down a considerable distance to the right.

"Ngh..." Lucina groaned, slowly pushing herself up. "What are we...supposed to do -"

Just then, Lucina heard a voice, a female's voice with an accent similar to Shulk's, shout, "FINAL CROOOOOSSSS!" Immediately after, a burst of red light emerged from behind the beast, shocking it and causing it to fall to the ground.

"Is...that...?" Lucina whispered, standing up. Captain Falcon slowly stood up as well, noticing the person who toppled the beast. It was a young woman, about Shulk's age, with short dark blonde hair, green eyes, and what appeared to be a mechanical suit of armor on her body. Or perhaps this wasn't a suit of armor, but rather, a mechanical exoskeleton. The armor was beige with traces of gold and light blue, and she had two large drones on her back as well as a peculiar crest engraved into the armor's chest area. The young woman herself was wielding two long swords, one in each hand, which she put away.

"Fiora...!" Lucina cried joyously, running to her.

"Fiora...?" Falcon murmured, walking to the woman.

"Oh, hey, Lucina," Fiora said with a smile. "It's been a while, hasn't it?"

"I guess it has," Lucina said, chuckling nervously.

"Oh," Fiora said, noticing the Captain. "Who's he?"

"Ah...hello," Falcon said, extending his hand for a handshake. "You can call me Captain Falcon. It's nice to meet you, Fiora."

"Nice to meet you, too," Fiora said, shaking his hand.

"Um...guys..." Lucina said, glancing at the beast, who was beginning to get back up. Noticing this, Fiora drew her blades again. "Further introductions can wait till later. This is a Territorial Rotbart, and it's not gonna go down easy!"

Getting up, the Territorial Rotbart let out a loud roar and beat its chest with its hands.

"Now it's getting serious! Look out!" Fiora shouted. The three took a defensive stance as the beast ran to them.

Glancing at the two ladies, Captain Falcon said to them, "I have a plan. Lucina, when I count to three, you dodge forward, run behind this thing and slash it from behind. I'll take it from there and leave an opening for Fiora to finish it off. You ready?"

"Ready!" Lucina said, a determined look in her eyes.

"Ready," Fiora replied.

"Alright, here it comes," Falcon said as the Territorial Rotbart ran to them. The monster raised its arms above them again. "On three, everyone. One..."

"Two..." Fiora said.

In the split second before Territorial Rotbart swung down its arms again, Lucina shouted, "Three!" Just before the monster's fists hit the ground, Fiora dodged to the left, Falcon backflipped away, and Lucina rolled on the ground forward and ran around it to its back. There she sliced at it in a leaping attack. "Falcon!"

"Got it!" Falcon shouted, running toward the beast. Generating energy in his fist, he leaped toward it and shouted, "Falcon..." Then punching forward, he yelled "PUUUNCH!" A burst of flame erupted from his fist, and the sheer power of the punch knocked the monster back. "Now, Fiora!"

"Okay!" Fiora yelled, leaping into the air. The drones on her back came off and positioned themselves around her abdomen, charging up energy. She shouted, "Respond, and move! Cannon Drones!" A giant blast of energy shot forth from the drones, burning a hole into Territorial Rotbart's chest and killing it instantly.

After the monster fell, the three regrouped. "Hee hee..." Fiora giggled.

"Hmm?" the Captain asked.

"I must say," Fiora chimed, clapping her hands together, "That was some truly brilliant teamwork from you guys!"

"T-teamwork?" Lucina stammered, a slight blush creeping across her face. "You...think so?"

"Of course!" Fiora said. "Why, do you feel that's not the case? Did something happen?"

Sighing, Falcon interjected, "Well, you see..." He proceeded to explain everything to Fiora.

"I see..." Fiora said. "So something happened between you guys, and after an incident, Lucina decided to go training here by herself...It's a good thing I came here to help." Looking at Lucina, she continued, "But I suppose it's even better that he came here to protect you, Lucina. I think he just wants to mend the rift after what happened back then."

"You think so?" Lucina asked. She looked at the Captain, who met her gaze as well.

"I have an idea!" Fiora exclaimed. "Why don't you two train together?"

"Huh?" Both Lucina and Captain Falcon gasped, looking at each other.

"I'm serious!" Fiora said. "Lucina, you'll be able to train with the Captain protecting you...and hopefully, you'll be able to talk out whatever issues have been plaguing you."

"I..." Lucina murmured. Falcon looked away, anticipating her refusal, but then her response surprised him.

"Sure. I'll let him train me."

"Really...?" Falcon asked Lucina, a trace of uncertainty in his voice.

"Yes," Lucina replied. "He's saved me twice already. I feel I can trust him...and there was also that time I was in the hospital, when he visited, I..." She blushed as she continued, "I showed a moment of vulnerability, and...he was there to wipe my tears away."

"Awwwww!" Fiora gushed. "That's so sweet! Aren't you glad you have one of those strong-but-gentle types with you?"

"Ah..." Falcon murmured, blushing and hiding his face under his scarf.

"S-say, Fiora," Lucina said. "Were you really just passing through the area?"

"To tell the truth, no," Fiora replied. "Shulk told me last night about the initiative to bring over candidates from Smashers' home worlds to be considered to join the tournament. Shulk chose me as one of the candidates from his world. The other was..."

"Hmm?"

"...Was Melia," Fiora continued. "I imagine Shulk will stop by later to check on me and then bring Melia here to train a bit."

"Ah, okay," Lucina said. "When you see Shulk, could you tell him to tell the others back at Smash City that I'm undergoing some private training...?"

"...Sure," Fiora said. "Well then, I shall be off. If you need a place to stay upon nightfall, there's the old Colony 6 campout in the cave just to the east of the statue in the distance."

"Okay," Lucina said. "Take care." Fiora waved as she ran off.

"...Well then," the Captain said to Lucina, "Shall we begin training now?"

"Yes," Lucina said with a nod.

And so began their training that would take them various places as they trained to become stronger. What neither of them anticipated was by the time their training came to a close, their relationship would have changed a great deal...

* * *

 **OH MY GOD MECHA FIORA FROM XENOBLADE HAS BEEN CONFIRMED TO APPEAR IN PROJECT X ZONE 2 (AS WELL AS CHROM AND LUCINA, BUT YOU KNOW. MY HOMEGIRL FIORA THO) AND THIS MAY MEAN SHE COULD POSSIBLY GET INTO SMASH! OR AT LEAST I HOPE SO CAUSE I REALLY WANT HER TO BE DLC AAAAAA OH MY GOD**

 **THAT CAMEO WAS SO HYPE AAAAAA  
**

 **...anyway I decided to cut it off here cause it was getting very wordy and I didn't want to cram too much into one chapter. I wanted to say that, are there any other fics in which the Smashers visit their own or other Smashers' worlds? Not that it matters, I'm going on with my direction which involves that, so if I'm the pioneer in that regard, so be it. I hope I do the concept justice. If not, let me know of any other fics that do that.**


	6. Training, part 2

**_Hiding in my Skin, Broken from Within_**

 ** _Chapter 5 - Training, Part 2_**

The sun had begun to set on Gaur Plains. Lucina and Captain Falcon had spent several hours training, both against other monsters as well as in one-on-one in friendly sparring matches, and they were quite exhausted. Remembering Fiora's advice from earlier, they headed for the cave located east of the statue. After walking past the nearby lake, they entered the cave.

Fiora mentioned that the cave was once a refugee camp for residents of Colony 6 after it was ravaged, and it still possessed the bare essentials for living. Several sleeping mats with blankets lined the stony floor, and there were a few tables with chairs and boxes that contained tools essential for survival, such as various first aid implements, rope, cloth, and hunting tools. In a corner far away from the sleeping mats was a cauldron hung over a stack of wood. It wasn't luxury, but it would do.

"Wow..." Lucina murmured, taking in her surroundings. "The people who last stayed in this cave sure knew how to survive."

"Having to spend so long in the wilderness like that..." The Captain remarked. "I can only imagine."

"Hmm?" Lucina was bemused by his comment.

"...Ah, sorry if my words seemed out of place. It's just, the world I come from is so technologically advanced that scenarios like that would not be an issue," Falcon clarified.

"I see," Lucina replied, taking a seat at a nearby table. "You know...I've always wanted to see what the worlds everyone else is from are like. I guess I just want to broaden my horizons, as they say. When I was a child, I loved reading stories that took place in other worlds. And...during my time here in the Smash tournament, I've come to know so many people who ended up being my friends, and they would tell me all about their own worlds."

"Is that so?" Falcon asked, taking a seat across from her.

"Yes," Lucina answered him. "When I first met Shulk's friend Fiora at that celebration a few months ago, she told me all about this world, where she and Shulk came from. I chose to come here because I wanted to see how vast and amazing it was for myself. ...If it's okay with you, I would someday like to visit the world you come from, too."

"Really?" Falcon was surprised by Lucina's remark. "I could take you someday in the future, but I don't think it would be such a great place to train, seeing as how it's vastly different from your world or Shulk's."

"Oh, no, it's fine," Lucina said. "I would like to go somewhere else to continue our training, but I'm not sure yet. I'll probably let you know tomorrow morning."

"Sounds fine," the Captain replied. Glancing at the cauldron and pile of wood, he said, "I think we should try to have a meal before we call it a night, though."

"Agreed," Lucina answered. "It looks like we'll have to hunt, apparently." She got up and walked to a box holding hunting tools, and Captain Falcon did the same. Reaching into the box, she pulled out a crossbow and equipped a quiver filled with arrows.

"A crossbow, huh?" the Captain asked her.

Lucina nodded in response. "I've used one a few times in the past. It was for combat, but I think it'll be useful in hunting."

"Sounds good," Falcon replied. He reached into the box and pulled out a machete. "I'm not very accustomed to using bladed weapons, but if it's for survival for tonight, I may as well do my best."

"That's the spirit!" Lucina encouraged him. "Well then, let's go out and hunt before it gets too dark."

"You're telling me...heh..." Falcon muttered under his breath.

The sky had gotten darker as the sun had completely set, and stars were shimmering in the night sky. Leading Captain Falcon on, Lucina spotted the same flock of Tirkin she had meant to fight previously before being ambushed by the Territorial Rotbart. Since they were bird-like creatures, she figured they would be the best species of wildlife on the plain to hunt for food.

"Alright, let's just stay behind these bushes until they walk close by," Lucina suggested. Falcon nodded. As they waited, though, he heard another female's voice in the distance, one different from Fiora's but with the same accent, shouting out her attacks like "Spear Break!" and "Starlight Kick!"

"Hey, Lucina..."

"Hmm?" She looked at him.

"Do you...hear anything? That is, another person?" he asked.

"Another person? I'm afraid not, sorry," she answered him. "I think the Tirkin are coming this way, though. Get ready." Lucina loaded arrows from her quiver into her crossbow while Captain Falcon got his stance ready to attack one of the Tirkin.

"Aaaaaand...now!" Taking aim, Lucina shot an arrow at one of the Tirkin, shooting it in the head and killing it instantly. Almost immediately afterward, Falcon leaped out of the bushes and stabbed another Tirkin in the chest, killing it as soon as the blade was removed. The last remaining Tirkin panicked and began to run away.

"Crap...we'd better hurry after it," Lucina said. The two chased after the fleeing bird-like creature when Falcon saw a young woman standing still in the beast's path. She looked to be about Shulk and Fiora's age, wearing a cap and short dress that had a color scheme of blue and violet. She also wore white shoes and maroon thigh-high stockings, and was holding a staff in her left hand. Perhaps her most distinguishing traits were her short, curled silver hair and what appeared to be small wings on the sides of her head.

"Hey, miss," Falcon shouted to the young woman, "Look out!"

"Heehee..." The lass chuckled. "It would be unwise to underestimate me."

"Huh?" Falcon stopped running and signaled Lucina to stop as well as they watched the Tirkin catch up to the unfamiliar woman.

"Spear Break!" The young woman shouted as she struck the bird creature with her staff, knocking it back. She followed it up by twirling her staff and shouting, "Star searing flames of absolution!" As she yelled that, a small, glowing orb that seemed to contain flames within it appeared over her head. She then shot the orb of pure elemental power at the creature, shouting, "Flare Impulse!" The orb burst into flames upon coming into contact with the Tirkin, roasting it alive.

"Well, I guess that's one way to cook a bird," the silver-haired woman said, giggling softly. As Lucina and Falcon caught up to the young magic caster, Lucina asked her, "Are you...that Melia person Fiora mentioned?"

"Why, yes, I am," the silver-haired woman confirmed. "I'm Melia Antiqua. It's nice to meet you, miss..."

"My name is Lucina," she answered Melia. "This is Captain Falcon. We're traveling together, you could say."

"I see," Melia replied. Taking a glance at the Captain, she asked Lucina with a curious expression on her face, "Is he your...?"

Knowing where Melia was taking the question, Lucina's face turned beet red. "W-we're not together in _that_ way! He's just...my trainer. He's helping me improve my skills in combat for the Smash tournament."

"I see," Melia answered her. "I've finished my training for consideration for the Smash tournament for the day. I was going to hunt for myself and head to the refugee camp to have my dinner and turn in for the night, but I guess since you two are here as well, we'll be using the other two Tirkin you got for dinner as well." Taking off a bag from her back and holding it in her other hand, she said, "Fiora gave me everything I need for tonight. Let's head back to the camp."

"Okay," Lucina said.

...

After the three arrived at the former refugee camp, Melia began to take all the items Fiora gave her out of her bag, which included various spices and vegetables and a jar of broth, while the other two hauled in their catches. Seeing Melia prepare the ingredients, Lucina said, "Oh, Melia. Let me help you."

"Thanks," Melia said. "I may not be the best cook, but Fiora gave me a few pointers. I guess that's what living in luxury as a princess for most of my life does to me."

Lucina was surprised at this revelation. "You're a princess, too?"

"Yes," Melia answered her. "Or rather, an Empress. Or at least, I was until my kingdom fell into ruin following a deception by a former aide of my late father. Since then, until I can find out a way to restore my kingdom and most of my people, I've been staying in the new, rebuilt Colony 6."

"I see..." Lucina said. "That's a lot like what I had to go through..."

Feeling his presence was detracting from the two princesses' conversation and having nothing to contribute, Captain Falcon said, "...is it okay that I bathe in the nearby lake for a while as you two prepare dinner?"

"...Sure," Melia answered him. "Dinner may take a while, anyway. And don't worry, we won't be able to see you from here, so take your time."

"Thanks, I guess..." Falcon said, feeling somewhat embarrassed at that statement. "Lucina, are you going to take a bath tonight?"

"Not tonight," Lucina replied. "I'll probably bathe in the early hours of tomorrow morning."

"Okay," Falcon said, taking a towel from a nearby box before heading out.

...

As Lucina told Melia of her own similar experiences, she had skinned the Tirkin and cut them up for a stew Melia was preparing. Melia washed the vegetables with some water Ether skills, put the broth, vegetables, and Tirkin meat into the cauldron, and lit the fire to cook the stew. Meanwhile, at the nearby lake, Falcon had disrobed, even removing his helmet since the ladies couldn't see him from where they were, and slowly immersed his body into the lake.

"Brrr...it's so cold..." He murmured, shivering. Seeing as how it was nighttime and the air was somewhat cool, he figured it wouldn't be surprising. As he washed himself with the frigid water, he tried to listen in on the two ladies' conversation as best he could.

"So, Lucina," Melia said after briefly tasting the stew before pouring a few more spices in. "Could you tell me how you and this Captain Falcon fellow met? I wonder, is...that his real name...?"

"I don't even know if that is his real name," Lucina answered her. "He's somewhat of a mystery as a person, even at Smash City. No one there, or even from what I hear his home world, has ever seen what he looks like beneath that helmet, either..." Pausing for a moment, she continued, "The first time I met him, it was during a testing for the Smash tournament. I'll admit, back then it wasn't on the best terms as my father was hoping to participate, but he didn't stand a chance against the Captain. At that time, I felt I should fight bravely in his stead, and when I was cornered, my friend Robin stepped in, and joined the tournament along with me. ...You know, Melia, if you were to be selected for the Smash tournament, I have a feeling you and Robin would get along pretty well."

"Very interesting," Melia commented. "But what about now? Things seem to be a bit better between you two."

"Well," Lucina began, "At Smash City, there was a small championship being held to celebrate some veterans returning, as well as the famous world warrior himself, Ryu, joining the fight. But...something went wrong and I was injured and had to recover."

"Oh, goodness," Melia gasped. "Are you okay?"

"I'm fine now," Lucina reassured the half-High Entia heiress. "It was the Captain himself who saved me then and even a bit earlier today before Fiora helped us out. Fiora also suggested we train together, and I agreed to it. I feel like I'm slowly beginning to trust him a lot more, as he also opened up to me somewhat when he visited me in the hospital." She blushed for a moment, and continued, "It was...really nice of him."

"Heehee..." Melia giggled, then proceeding to give the stew another taste.

"Even so," Lucina said, "I hope that during our training journey, I'll get to see the real him."

At that time, Falcon had finished bathing. After drying himself off, he put on all his clothes and helmet and walked back into the cave.

"Hey, Captain," Melia said. "Dinner's ready, I'll be serving."

...

"This is really good!" Lucina complimented Melia after taking a spoonful of the stew.

"Well, you did help, after all," Melia playfully teased, taking a spoonful herself.

After the three ate in silence for a while, Falcon spoke up. "Um...Lucina?"

"Yes?" Lucina asked, looking at him. She noticed the somewhat concerned look on his face; even though she could not see his eyes beneath the visor, she noticed him biting his lip slightly.

"Listen...I have something to confess. About the day you and Robin entered the tournament..."

"Ah...?" Lucina's eyes widened as she listened intently.

"...I know that when your father, Chrom, came at me first, I did my best to protect myself, and...I know I defeated him pretty harshly and the way you felt then is perfectly understandable. But know that...it wasn't my intention at all to hurt him or you."

"...it's fine, Captain. I understand now, especially after how you went out of your way to help me all these times...I truly do appreciate it."

"...Thank you," Falcon said, a slight smile gracing his face. "I guess I've taken it on myself to be there for you whenever he couldn't be. This is...the way that I can atone for the injustice I committed against you. Because...in my home world, I'm hailed as a hero in the eyes of the public, and I know I'd never do anything to intentionally put someone in harm's way. So, right now, I figured I'd be the hero I am meant to be."

"Don't worry about it," Lucina told him. "It's like you said. Circumstances get the best of us. And I've really come to trust you a lot ever since the hospital visit." Looking away for a moment, Lucina looked at him again and said, "You know, I really like that you're opening up to me more like this. I feel like the real you is starting to...emerge."

"The real...me?" Falcon asked, surprised by Lucina's statement.

"Yeah," Lucina said with a nod. Yawning, she said, "Well, it's been a long day. I'd better get my rest so I can be ready to continue training tomorrow." Getting up from the table, she told the other two people sitting at the table, "Good night, guys."

"Good night, Lucina," Melia said. "I wish you two luck on your journey."

"Thanks." She walked over to a sleeping mat in a cordoned off corner of the cave, covered herself with a blanket, and began to doze off to sleep.

"I suppose I'd better go to bed soon, too," Falcon said.

"Same here," Melia replied. "I'll head off in the morning...Fiora may drop by to check in on you two. And...Captain?"

"Yes?"

"I must say that I am glad you two were able to talk out your issues like that. It truly does take a lot of courage to mend the wounds of the past."

"...Thank you," the Captain said. "Well then, good night."

"Good night."

...

The next morning, Lucina awoke a bit earlier than Captain Falcon, in the earlier hours of the morning, and, catching Melia leaving, wished her luck in entering the Smash tournament before saying goodbye, and bathed in the lake shortly after Melia left. Several minutes later, Falcon awoke to a series of faint splashing sounds. Walking out of the cave, he saw Lucina tossing stones into the lake.

"Good morning, Lucina," he said to her.

"Good morning," Lucina said calmly. "I've done some thinking, and I know where I want to go next for our training."

"You do?" Seeing Fiora walk up to them from afar, he said, "Oh, isn't that...?"

"Hey, Fiora!" Lucina called out to the mechanically-enhanced Homs girl.

"Hey guys," Fiora chimed. "How'd the first day of training go?"

"It went fine," Lucina said. "We met your friend, Melia, as well."

"She told me!" Fiora clapped her hands together. "She says she was glad you guys were able to talk some of your issues out."

"I'm glad too," Lucina said, smiling. "Well, anyway, I've decided where I want to go next to continue my training."

"Where?" Fiora asked.

"I want to go to Termina," Lucina said. "My roommate, Zelda, says she went there once with Link, and Young Link when he still participated in the tournament a long time ago. It looks perfect, as it has a bay and a mountain area."

"Sounds great," Fiora said. Eyeing Lucina's knapsack, she said, "Hold on...can I check your contents?"

"Sure." Taking the sack off her back, Lucina handed it to Fiora. "Hmm..." Fiora mumbled. "This bag is a little small, and since you two are going to train in tough areas, you might need more supplies." Heading into the cave, she noticed the bag Melia carried her vegetables in was still there. "Oh look, Melia left her bag here. ...it's no matter, that bag was a bit big for what she needed, but it'll be perfect for you guys." Fiora transferred the contents of Lucina's bag, which included some first aid tools, into the larger bag, and included other tools such as cloth, towels, and rope.

"Right, this should do it." Heading out of the cave, Fiora handed the larger bag to Lucina. Seeing how large the bag was, the Captain said, "Wait, Fiora. Let me carry it."

"Oh, okay," Fiora said, handing the bag to him. "You're her trainer, after all."

"Fiora?" Lucina asked Fiora.

"Yes?"

"...if you want, you can keep my bag."

"Oh," Fiora said. "Thanks, Lucina. I'll see if I can get a bag the same size for Melia later on." Pausing for a second, she continued, "And don't worry, I told Shulk about your training, and he confirmed to me that he told everyone else."

"Thanks, Fiora," Lucina said. "Well then, we're off. I wish you luck in getting selected for the tournament!"

"Thanks!" Fiora shouted. "Best of luck with your training!"

As the two walked off to the off-world transporter, Lucina asked the Captain, "Say, Captain? Last night, Melia was curious as to what your real name is."

"Ah..." Captain Falcon was surprised by Lucina's inquiry. "I...don't really share any details of myself to just anyone, but considering last night, I guess I may as well show you another facet of the 'real me'. Just don't tell anyone else, okay?"

"Of course."

"...it's Douglas," he said after a brief pause. "Douglas Jay Falcon."

"...that's not a bad name at all," Lucina said.

"You think so?"

"Yeah," Lucina said. "Though, is it okay that I still call you Captain for now?"

"...sure," Falcon answered her with a nod. The two headed to Termina to begin the next phase of their training.


End file.
